


Bygones

by Ange_de_la_Mort



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, past Shiro/Adam, vld season 7 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 16:51:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15369018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ange_de_la_Mort/pseuds/Ange_de_la_Mort
Summary: Keith eavesdrops on things that are none of his business and on things that are.





	Bygones

"Takashi."  
  
Keith can't help but flinch. He knows just one person who would call Shiro by that name. Who did call him by that name. Before Kerberos happened. A person who doesn't deserve to utter it, not anymore. And most of all not like that; relieved and loving, as if nothing ever happened between them.  
  
Keith eavesdrops. He shouldn't do that, should respect Shiro's privacy. But after he's lost him again and again, after he's had to search for him and find him again and again and _again_ , he sometimes gets a little itchy when Shiro stays away from him for too long. He doesn't want to lose him again. Not to the Galra. Not to deep space.  
  
And most of all, not to the man who once took that space in Shiro's heart, the one Keith isn't sure if he'll ever be able to fill.  
  
That's why he decided to follow Shiro when he wanted to talk privately to his ex-boyfriend. That's why he's listening, squatting in front of the door in a posture that hurts his knees and thighs as he squeezes one eye shut and peers through the keyhole with the other.  
  
He can't see their faces. Can't see the expression in Adam's eyes when he sees his presumed dead ex-boyfriend again after all this time.  
  
But he can see that they're wrapping their arms around each other, and it pierces his heart like a needle.  
  
"I thought you were dead," Adam says now, and Keith can see one of his hands clawing at Shiro's shoulder. "I thought ..."  
  
"I know." Shiro sounds as usual. Gentle and warm and Keith can only picture the smile on his lips. At the thought of how he smiles at Adam, his stomach turns.  
  
But then Shiro lets go of Adam and takes a step backwards between them. "You look good."  
  
"I ... you ... your hair," Keith hears Adam stammer softly, as if he still can't quite believe that Shiro is suddenly there, right there in front of him. He's probably just feeling the way Keith felt back then when he freed him. For a second he can sympathize with Adam. But only briefly. They have nothing in common. He would never have turned his back on Shiro. He never _did_. "I've heard about your arm, but I ... I'm so sorry, Takashi."  
  
“Don't be. What happened happened. And you were right; going to space could have killed me. Almost did a few times. Succeeded once." Apparently, Adam is shooting him a confused look right now, and Keith imagines him raising his eyebrows behind those narrow glasses, because Shiro hastily raises his left arm and waves the words away with a gesture and a shrug. "Long story: Something for later, for when I've had a few drinks and the Galra are defeated and so on."  
  
"What, are you suggesting us going out for drinks?" Utter disbelief in his voice that mirrors the disbelief in Keith's mind. "How can you … don't tell me you've forgiven me. I haven't even forgiven myself. I was ...” A sigh, a deep and exhausted, a sound made only by a broken man. "I'm so glad you're okay."  
  
And then Shiro hugs him again.  
  
And Keith feels his chest constrict, because this kind of hugs should be reserved for Keith and Keith only. He imagines Adam burying his face in the crook of Shiro's neck just the same way Keith always does. But the hug is shorter, more definite than the ones Shiro and he share. There are a few words that are too quiet for Keith to understand.  
  
Adam slowly releases himself from Shiro's embrace and wipes his glasses on his uniform jacket. Keith can see they're wet with tears. "Who are the others?" he asks. His voice trembles slightly.  
  
"Garrison students. Remember Lance and Hunk? And Katie Holt? Matt's little sister?"  
  
"Holt. Sure I do. 'Whenever there's trouble, there's a Holt in sight', I sure remember that. "  
  
"That hasn't changed at all, they are still both trouble most of the time. But they're good trouble." Shiro sounds fond of all of them. Like they're all his family, his friends. His universe. "They're all good kids."  
  
"I guess."  
  
"And Keith, Keith is there, too. Remember him?"  
  
An affirmative shrug. "He's grown, I guess he's a good kid, too?"  
  
"He's much more than that."  
  
Keith holds his breath, pressing his face closer to the keyhole. He's going to have imprints on his face, but he doesn't care, because now Shiro talks about him, calls him _much more,_ now he'll rub it under his ex's nose. That they are friends. Damn good friends (Keith would like to be more, but he's content to be Shiro's friend, because Shiro needs friends, Shiro deserves friends, dammit, Shiro deserves all the wonderful things in the world). He will tell him that Keith never gave up on him, never left him alone, will call Adam out for being a shitty boyfriend and will put Keith on a pedestal and ... no. No, okay, that's wishful thinking, that doesn't sound like Shiro. Shiro is better than that.  
  
But instead of saying at least some of these things, Shiro says: "You meant the world to me. But not anymore."  
  
"I know."  
  
"I've ... I've been through a lot. But I've also seen a lot. I've seen the universe. Become part of it. Become its defender. And I've also met someone who means the universe to me now."  
  
"The kid, I know. I've seen the way you look at him sometimes." Adam sighs softly and raises his hand, probably to straighten his glasses. "You used to look at me the same way."  
  
What?  
  
"Adam ... " Shiro sounds sorry now, genuinely sorry, and Keith knows that Shiro is too good for this world, because Shiro is literally the only one who could still be so damn nice to a man who's hurt him this much. "I'm ... when this over, I'm gonna propose to him."  
  
Wait, what.  
  
"That bad, huh?"  
  
"Mhh."  
  
Wait, what?  
  
Adam laughs softly and jokingly punches Shiro's shoulder. "You've always been quite the hopeless romantic, Takashi."  
  
"Shiro."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Shiro shrugs. "It's ... it's Shiro. To my friends."  
  
It's quiet between them. For a long moment. One, two, ten seconds. Then Keith can hear Adam sighing audible, can hear the smile in his voice. "Thank you. ... thank you, Shiro. For still being my friend."  
  
____  
  
When Keith sees them approach the door, he jumps up hastily and knocks the dust off his pants, strolls down the corridor in a feeble attempt to cover up that his heart is rapidly beating in his chest (quickly enough to maybe even break the sound barrier) because it seems like his life - and especially his love life – is going to do a complete one-eighty again.  
  
But he can't fool Shiro. At all. As soon as he's said goodbye to Adam, patted him on the shoulder and grinned at him, as soon as Adam has disappeared around the corner, Shiro looks Keith up and down, scrutinizing him. Then he sighs and points at the spot where a screw on the door lock left a mark on Keith's cheek.  
  
"Should have known you're eavesdropping. You never change, do you?"  
  
Well. No point in lying. No point in trying to trick Shiro. Keith should know that by now. He smiles and pulls his shoulders up in an overly excited shrug, one that must make him seem like complete and utter idiot. "Yeah, you should have known." Slowly, he falls into a trot beside Shiro, hands clasped behind his back. The smile simply refuses to disappear from his lips. "Hey, what you just said ... are you ... did you mean it? Or did you just want to piss him off?"  
  
Shiro rolls his eyes. But he smiles, too. "I'm over pissing him off.”  
  
"So that's a yes?" Keith asks while noticing that the smile on his lips has started to widen into a giant grin.  
  
"... yeah. Yeah, I ... I'm gonna propose to you. But not now."  
  
"I know." It takes him a bit to get his face back under control. He forces himself to take a breath, to breathe and calm down, and maybe please not get a heart attack from joy and excitement in the middle of this corridor because this won't help anyone, especially not Keith himself. "Hey, Shiro?" Slowly he puts a hand on Shiro's arm, strokes his fingers over the point where skin and flesh and bone end so abruptly and then higher up to his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "The answer will be yes."  
  
Shiro smiles. "I know."  
  
"But not now."  
  
"No."  
  
This is not the right moment. Now they have more important things to do. Now there is a universe to defend. Keith laughs softly and and raises a fist while leaning on Shiro. "Now we have Galra ass to kick."


End file.
